Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Up For Debate

We have books to choose from this month! (Thanks, Danielle, Joelma, Michelle and Troye for you suggestions.) Here is a synopsis of each book. If you need more information, click on the book and it will take you to the book on Amazon where you can read additional reviews. Please vote for something that you actually think you will READ! July's book club was awesome in that (I think) everyone had read the book and was able to discuss it. The poll is open until we meet for dinner in August and I wil announce the winner.
In one of the finer modern ironies of the life-imitates-art sort, the country that Kundera seemed to be writing about when he talked about Czechoslovakia is, thanks to the latest political redefinitions, no longer precisely there. This kind of disappearance and reappearance is, partly, what Kundera explores in The Book of Laughter and Forgetting. In this polymorphous work -- now a novel, now autobiography, now a philosophical treatise -- Kundera discusses life, music, sex, philosophy, literature and politics in ways that are rarely politically correct, never classifiable but always original, entertaining and definitely brilliant.
Morsi's fifth novel chronicles three generations of McKinney, Texas, beauty queens as they rediscover the strength of family bonds in the wake of disappointment. Cotton Queen runner-up and mother of reluctant queen Laney, Babs Hoffman is a World War II widow and a rape survivor who doesn't come fully back to life until psychotherapy and feminism invent new possibilities for her. Laney, on the other hand, learns the hard way that liberation isn't the be-all end-all: character counts, love skews everything and there are worse things for a woman to do than to put on a pretty dress. The strength of Morsi's characters outweigh the novel's saccharine moments; Morsi's many fans will appreciate this book.
Elizabeth Berg has done it again---told the story of Everywoman, or at the least, a story every woman can identify with. This moving book, about the disintegration of a marriage and its aftermath, will touch all who read it.
Sam deals with the end of her marriage in a scattershot way: looking for reasons, spending lots of money, trying to figure out what to do, and generally flailing about, emotionally. But the reader comes to understand why, thanks to Berg's wonderful writing. This was the reaction of a woman has no idea what will happen next, when all the things she has thought would come to pass suddenly are no longer a part of her future.
"Mine is a story of craving; an unreliable account of lusts and troubles that began, somehow, in 1956 on the day our free television was delivered." So begins the story of Dolores Price, the unconventional heroine of Wally Lamb's She's Come Undone. Dolores is a class-A emotional basket case, and why shouldn't she be? She's suffered almost every abuse and familial travesty that exists: Her father is a violent, philandering liar; her mother has the mental and emotional consistency of Jell-O; and the men in her life are probably the gender's most loathsome creatures. But Dolores is no quitter; she battles her woes with a sense of self-indulgence and gluttony rivaled only by Henry VIII. Hers is a dysfunctional Wonder Years, where growing up in the golden era was anything but ideal. While most kids her age were dealing with the monumental importance of the latest Beatles single and how college turned an older sibling into a long-haired hippie, Dolores was grappling with such issues as divorce, rape, and mental illness. Whether you're disgusted by her antics or moved by her pathetic ploys, you'll be drawn into Dolores's warped, hilarious, Mallomar-munching world.
Admissions counselor Eugenia Genie Michaels has dated professor-turned-author Hugh Spencer for four years, patiently waiting him out. When Hugh's bestselling novel lands him on TV, Genie's loved ones tuning in are surprised to see him make an on-air proposal to the love of his life. All assume it's Genie, but off camera, Hugh confesses to an affair, escapes to England for the summer and leaves Genie to do the explaining. Best friend Patty proposes that, rather than moping, Genie keep her mouth shut and enjoy being engaged while it lasts. Soon, Genie's sporting a giant, self-purchased cubic zirconia ring, and masses of wedding gifts begin to arrive at her office. As the inevitable approaches, there's plenty of opportunity for sticky situation comedy, including handsome, charming carpenter Nick, and Strohmeyer nails it at every unpredictable turn.
For Ashling Kennedy, the new job she lands at start-up Irish fashion magazine Colleen is a dream come true. For Lisa Edwards, a high-maintenance London editor expecting a promotion to New York, her appointment as editor-in-chief of Colleen is a slap in the face, the only consolation being her rumpled-but-handsome new boss, Jack Devine. Furious at being passed up for a job at Manhattan magazine, Lisa vows to make Colleen the envy of the fashion industry, even if it kills her. She drives her Dublin staff to exhaustion, and Colleen becomes a smashing success. But after a particularly lusty meeting with her much-maligned long-distance London boyfriend, she wonders if the move and the single-minded career obsession have been worth it. Meanwhile, Ashling is betrayed by her boyfriend and her best friend Clodagh, whose bourgeois domesticity she's long envied. Ashling realizes that she has to let go of her cheerful "Miss Fix-It" demeanor and go after what she wants. Lisa is chagrined and Ashling is shocked to learn that Jack may actually fancy Ashling, but one "sushi for beginners" dinner has her convinced. British bestseller Keyes's latest confection (after Watermelon) makes such a painfully brittle start the reader nearly despairs of the cardboard cutout characters, but slowly they begin to breathe and morph into charmers. Keyes's considerable following on these shores will declare this a delight.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Who Picked This Book?


Just in case you missed it, here is a link to the
article on book clubs in Sunday's AJC.

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Trilogy Park Neighborhood Pool Party

The Trilogy Park Pool Party was this weekend. Lots of food, families and fun! Just in case you missed it-here are some of the highlights-
Yes, that's Justin under that mob of kids!
And there was a GIANT waterslide!



And a fabulous DJ.

Shake your groove thang!

Friday, July 13, 2007

At the Aquatic Center

When you're hot, you're hot...


And when you're not...you wear a towel.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

July Quiz-Famous Friends

1. Thelma and _______________
2. Laverne and _______________
3. _______________ and Hardy
4. Darcy and _______________
5. _______________ and Castello
6. Lucy and _____________
7. _________________ and Lacey
8. _______________ and Rachel (Friends)
9. _______________and Huck Finn
10. Alice and _______________ (Honeymooners)
11. Ginger and _______________
12. Fred Flinstone and ____________
13. Hawkeye and _______________
14. Milo and _______________
15. Bo Duke and ______________
16. ________________ and Ernie
17. _______________ and Robin
18. Lone Ranger and _____________
19. Rocky and _______________
20. Helen Keller and ______________
21. Ariel and _______________
22. Oprah and _______________
23. Izzy and _________________
24. ____________and Matt Damon
25. Nicole Kidman and _____________
26. Betty and _____________ (comic)
27. Sherlock Holmes and ___________
28. Wilma Flinstone and _____________
29. Dora and _______________
30. Don Quixote and ______________
31. Robinson Crusoe and ___________
32. Meredith and ________________
33. ______________ and Little John
34. Han Solo and _______________
35. _______________ and Jughead
36. Paris Hilton and ______________
37.Barbie and _________________
38. _____________ and Grace
39. Ritchie and _______________
40. Ferris Bueller and _____________
41. Patty Greene and _____________ (Square Pegs)
42. Danny Zuko and ______________
43. Lilo and ___________________
44. ___________ and Sulley
45. Mickey Mouse and _____________
46. Paul McCartney and ____________
47. Frank Sinatra and _____________
48. Snoopy and _______________
49. Cameron Diaz and _____________
50. _____________ and Kelly Rowland

(Answers posted in the comments section)

Friday, July 6, 2007

MOVIE NIGHT


Friday, August 10th
6:30-10:30
at
Kim Anderson's house
Bring whatever you would like to drink & a munchie to share.
RSVP by commenting!

Thursday, July 5, 2007

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Amicalola Falls



We hiked up the 425 steps at Amicalola Falls!